It is known to produce nickel components, such as shells or other shapes using nickel vapor deposition (NVD). Usually this involves the use of a deposition chamber, with a mandrel or deposition master being placed in the chamber. The mandrel is heated and nickel vapor in the form of nickel carbonyl gas is passed over the heated mandrel. As the nickel carbonyl gas contacts the hot mandrel surface, it decomposes to form a hard and dense nickel deposit on the mandrel. The deposited nickel forms a layer that accurately reproduces the surface details of the mandrel on which it is deposited.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,007,634 issued to Reinhart Weber et al, shows such a deposition chamber for producing nickel products.
A difficulty with the prior art NVD methods and apparatus employing deposition chambers, however, is that prior to the introduction of the nickel carbonyl vapor into the chamber, the total inner chamber has to be purged of any oxygen. This procedure takes in most cases, depending on chamber size, between 4 and 6 hours. A similar purging procedure has to be repeated after the deposition process is completed before the deposition chamber can be opened.